Gilas girls test mettle in FIBA U18 Asian Women's Championship

MANILA, Philippines – After falling short in the U16 category, Gilas Pilipinas girls dive back into action with hopes of realizing a Division A promotion dream in the FIBA U18 Women’s Asian Championship in Bangalore, India starting Monday.

The Filipina cagebelles begin their quest in Division B, where they are bracketed in Group A with Thailand, Samoa and Maldives. Group B has Mongolia, Hong Kong, Jordan and Malaysia.

Thailand will serve as the first test for Gilas girls on Monday followed by Samoa and Maldives on Tuesday and Wednesday to wrap up the group phase of the Asian tilt slated until September 11.

Under the watch of head coach and national women’s program director Pat Aquino, Gilas has to finish No. 1 in its group to gain an outright seat in the semifinals. Otherwise, it needs to go through the qualification phase to make the Final Four.

Only the winner of Division B will be promoted in Division A, which currently features Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, New Zealand, Chinese Taipei, India and Indonesia.

Gilas girls are out for redemption of sorts in the U18 tilt after a bronze medal finish in the U16 Division B joust last month.

The Philippine team then swept the group stage including a convincing 94-65 win against Samoa, which however pulled off a full reversal in the semifinals, 88-73, on its way to the Division B title and Division A qualification.

To achieve the mission, Gilas will lean on U16 holdovers Kristan Yumul, Camille Nolasco and BJ Villarin with the help of their seniors led by UC San Diego-commit Sumayah Sugapong.

Gilas girls’ campaign comes at the heels of a sixth-place performance by the Gilas boys led by Mason Amos last week in the U18 Men’s Asian competition in Tehran, Iran.